I saw a bobcat sneaking by about an hour ago but still haven’t seen a deer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's awesome! In all of my years of hunting and wild trout fishing in the Pa mountains, I have yet to see a bobcat. I believe I've seen their tracks on a couple occasions, but never laid eyes on one. They are generally very secretive critters.
I’ve seen them in Ohio multiple times and they’re on the endangered list. At home in Pennsylvania, I’ve never seen a bobcat. I ended up seeing a black squirrel a half hour before I left, but I didn’t see any deer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Tied in for a 3hr afternoon sit. Last one till September. Shot a great Buck in VT, but no Bucks in NJ for 2024. I was hoping to start off 2025 with a Buck but so far no luck. On camera I have a decent 6 and 8 as well as a big 8 all at this stand. Hoping one comes by this afternoon as well as a skipper for some more meat. Can't bring myself to kill a mature Doe here at the farm. I'd be killing 3-4 deer with one shot. Good luck to anyone else who is out.
Already thinking about next season. Stand location, NJ food plot, not holding out for big Bucks, shooting more Doe, only hunting the farm and county park in NJ, hunting my property in VT more often, etc. I only shot 4 deer in 2024 NJ Archery January/September Doe, VT Archery November Buck and VT Muzzy December Doe. I'll be shooting more in 2025 God willing.
Just finished a scouting run and learned a couple things, which is the point I guess. I do love some post season hikes.
And, in doing that sometimes you're rewarded. Also, you have a much better view of the lay of the land without leaves on the trees.
Had a skipper in front of me at 20yds , but three very sketched out Doe about 20yds to my left kept me from grabbing my bow. They kept circling and walking back and forth. Eventually the little one walked off too. They were not down wind and I washed all my clothes so I'm not sure what their problem was. I do find that deer are more skittish around baited areas and have already decided that I will not be baiting in NJ next year. We'll, that will do it for me this season.
It was great following along with your season. You and your family were quite productive this year Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk
Couldn't agree more. The one and only time I hunted in Ohio, I learned that first hand! I was the out of state guest of a very successful big buck killer who had leased land that we hunted. There were various spots where he baited, which I wasn't crazy about, because I was never a fan of baiting. But, he told me most everyone baits in Ohio, and if you didn't bait, the deer would go where there was bait. Anyway, since I was going to be sitting over a pile of corn, I thought it would be pretty simple to kill a buck. How wrong I was! The first thing I learned was deer in general were VERY wary when approaching the bait. They'd stop quite a ways out to survey the area, before even thinking about coming in, and when they did, they were on constant alert! Even once they were on the corn, they were very skittish, always looking around. I also learned there's a heirarchy at the pile. The mature does would run the show, making lesser does move while they fed. The only time they'd give up the pile was if a buck approached. I watched this same behavior time and again. I learned a LOT about deer behavior. I let lots of lesser bucks walk, hoping for a big one, but I did NOT get the easy buck kill I had expected! I went home empty handed, but still had a great time.
thank you to everyone that posted, i enjoyed the read. cant wait til next seasons LFTS!!!!!!!!!!!! enjoy the off season, shoot your bow every week, shoot a winter league and or a 3D course / league. get out there and scout for next season
This is a great thread every year.......I check it at least 5 times a day - If you miss a day sometimes you're 10 plus pages behind. It keeps me in the game even after my season here in Northern NY ends in mid December cheering everybody on - It's been extra cold and snowy so I've been working on setting up a new rig for this coming season
